Connecticut is Weak on Bicycle Friendly Businesses

First, I'd like to congratulate the six (6) companies in Connecticut that have been recognized as Bicycle Friendly Businesses.  They have started looking past the immediate horizon and realize that active transportation improves the health and attitude of employees, lowers their cost of living, supports locally focused community and businesses, puts less wear and tear on the roads and parking lots, and is goodness for employee retention.

Many Connecticut corporations and small companies pay no mind to how their employees get to work.  That is reflected in our state's marked under representation in the Bicycle Friendly Business listing.   Of the 150 new BFB's in 2014, only two (2) are from Connecticut.  Of the 800+ total BFB's, you'll only find six (6) - listed below.  For comparison to a similarly sized state in our region, Massachusetts has thirty-two (32) BFB's.  For such a swaggering bikey city that New Haven isn't better represented with more Bicycle Friendly Businesses.

What surprises me is that more companies haven't recognized the benefits.  So focused are we on the next quarter profits, or the next month's business expenses, that we're giving away the long game (and future benefits) of workplaces that step away from the 1-to-1 ratio of parking spots to employees.  Not even considering the catastrophic global weirdness that may be creeping out of scientific predilection and into our weather patterns, there are almost immediate benefits for employers that promote alternates to single occupancy vehicle travel.  Bicycles aren't the only option - car pooling, transit, walking, and telecommuting.  There are oodles of ways to reduce our transportation impacts, while improving quality of life.

Enough negativity for now. Here are the 2014 Bicycle Friendly Businesses in CT.  Congratulations!  You stand out in Connecticut for actually making an effort.  It's an easy application to fill out, and in 2014 it was free to apply.  Let's do better next round Connecticut!

2014 Connecticut Bicycle Friendly Businesses 

• [SILVER] Bicycles East, Glastonbury (new in 2014)
• [SILVER] REI - West Hartford (since 2012)
• [BRONZE] Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven (since 2013)
• [BRONZE] CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Hartford (since 2012)
• [BRONZE] Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford (new in 2014)
• [BRONZE] Whitcraft LLC, Eastford (since 2011)

League of American Bicyclists - Bicycle Friendly Business Program, Bicycle Friendly Community Program

Connecticut's website promoting alternate commutes - www.CTrides.com

Simple ways to make your company more Bike Friendly:

• Visible and convenient bike parking.  If you can put it under an overhang or patio, that's ideal.  Bike parking near the main entry doors, and more convenient than the surface parking lots advertises that your company respects and promotes human powered transportation.
• Put up some Share the Road signs.  After P&W put up Share the Road signs on the roads looping our campus, my negative vehicle interfaces fell dramatically.  
• Showers and lockers.  I've got a short commute, so I don't need a shower when I arrive by bike.  Many potential bike commuters with longer commutes or lower fitness levels may feel that a shower is required to polish up before tackling the work day.
• Bike Commuting, Telecommuting, Transit, and Carpooling Info Sessions.  Schedule and hold lunch and learn sessions that highlight the options and allow your local experts (and outside advocates) to share best practices and safety tips.
• Hold a Bike to Work Day or breakfast event (bagels and coffee) at your campus or support your local Bike to Work Day.

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Even fewer protections for cyclists

Salem and I rode up to Massachusetts yesterday. We felt that it was a pretty expressive ride. We felt marginally protected by the Constitution. Well, we were wrong. As soon as we crossed the Mass line, our first amendment protections as cyclists fell by the wayside. Apparently, a Federal district court in Mass determined that riding your bike is not in and of itself a first amendment protected activity. See Damon v. Huckowitz (D. Mass Aug. 9, 2013). Also, it would seem that taking the lane in Hadley will get you stopped by the cops. I rode my bike there last weekend and was taking lanes.

Also, the court seems to have ruled as mater of law that riding in the middle of the lane (something the League of American Bicyclists, etc.) is more dangerous and is not allowed.

As you know, Hadley is in greater Northampton, which is a pretty pro-bike area. Are they going to protest?

Here's the link to the Volokh Conspiracy post where I saw this. Read more!

Are you bike curious?

There are a lot of folks out there that are bike curious, but maybe haven't taken the plunge yet as a full fledged bike commuter.  Maybe you're a weekend bike path rider that thinks it might be fun (not to mention healthy and cheap) to ride your bike to work or the grocery store on a more regular basis.  Perhaps you're like my co-worker at P&W whose truck just failed emissions and you don't want to cough up the $2000 to fix it.  Whether bike curious by choice or by situation, there are some educational opportunities out there.  Better to do it right, than not.  I mean, when you're riding in the company of several ton vehicles, it's best not to approach the situation like amateur hour.

For example - local bike shops often put on short seminars on Bike Commuting.  REI has come to Pratt & Whitney a couple of times to do Bike Commuting and Bike Maintenance 101 courses - and the classes were full of bike curious engineers.  If you are interested in a bike commuter seminar for your employer or school, get in touch with Bike Walk CT and they can see what makes sense for your organization.

More specifically, there is a FREE bike commuter course at Manchester Community College planned for Friday, April 5th.  The material is being presented by League Cycling Instructors (LCI) certified by the League of American Bicyclists.  This is an important point, since in Mid-May Bike Walk CT is hosting a LCI course to train another 16 more local LCI's.  With more LCI's there will be more quality bike safety and basic training in CT.  Bringing knowledge to the people.  I like it.

 

This weekend I rode up to Northampton, MA with Kristen to check out the burlesque show that is put on monthly.  It was awesome and disturbing - and I will highly recommend it to others.  On the way back we found Ray Bradbury keeping an eye on dinosaur footprints just off Route 5 north of Springfield.  Route 5 is remarkably pleasant between Northampton and Holyoke, then it quickly turns to shit as you come into West Springfield. 

 

We veered West to avoid the craptastic West Springfield segment.  On our way back into Northern Connecticut we stopped at Sunrise Park just off Mountain Road, a very nice gem.  I'd like to head back there later for hiking and some warmer weather swimming.  They had a detailed and unique hand made map board up by the reservoir.

 

If you're a bike commuter and you're passing through East Hartford on Friday (3/15) morning, stop by and catch breakfast with us at Maddie's.  IceBike to Work is what we call it.  Currently dominated by Pratt and Whitney folks, but all are welcome.  We'll be there between 7-8AM.

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Persuasion

Johanna is my wonderful girlfriend. For a time, between the ages of 16 and 23, I didn't really ride my bike much at all. I don't remember why, but one day were started riding bikes together. We did it a whole bunch. Around that time, I quit smoking and decided to substitute one addiction for another by riding my bike all the time. Johanna doesn't seem to have the same predisposition towards addiction, or maybe is saner than me. So, anyway, she doesn't ride as much as me.

That's ok and that's not what I'm writing about. What I'm writing about is Johanna's ability to not ride much and then ride a long way. Johanna has maybe gone on five rides with me so far this year, but Saturday, with Dario and Peter, we rode up to Westfield and back. I don't think I could do that. I ride all year so that I can ride 80 miles without perishing. Johanna hasn't ridden that far since last year around this time. It's impressive. I wish I had that kind of latent athletic ability.

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Moose and memory

It's been a weird week. Last weekend I was in San Francisco for Lex & Dan's wedding. While there, my parents called to let me know that my step-grandpa, Luis, died and the funeral, etc. was Thursday-Saturday. During the intervening days, a God war was waged at work.

Sunday was the first normal day in awhile, so I went for a bike ride. I went out to Granville, with stop at Neapuag and Tunxis state forest (I rode through Peoples, but not on any dirt, so I didn't get the state forest experience). While riding up rt. 20 from Riverton to Milo Coe Rd., I took a bizarre detour down an dead end. When I came back, there was a Subaru idling by the gate. As I turned to get back on rt. 20 the man in the car yelled at me to watch out for the moose up the road. Then he asked if he wanted to see pictures of the moose. They were four moosey mooses. I got out my camera, but the moose had left. If I hadn't taken the weird detour, I would have seen them, but maybe they would have killed me.

Also, I saw the monument that explains why Milo Coe Rd. is called Milo Coe Rd.

And, there were these strange RIPs on Hartland Hollow Rd., which were recent, but strange, because the road is closed to traffic.

Oh, because of the funeral, I didn't do that Landmine Classic 50 miler. I figured I hadn't enough saddle time in the last two weeks to be at all prepared, though after riding today I realized I had some miles in me. None the less, the relaxation was preferable.

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Shake a fist

Taking the opportunity on to the trip to the Granby CVS, where Johanna gets prescriptions filled because it's close to work, Johanna exercised her right to ride around on her new 'cross bike. We rode around on those dirt roads out that way and it was pretty good.

No hot sulfur rained upon us as rode/hiked up Sodom Mountain.

This sign was a the beginning of a cool dirt road, the kind upon which I like to drive my Passat. So, I don't think a Passat is an "own risk" at all. Or, maybe it was like Passats own risk, because that's definitely true.

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Mastication

So, I wasn't lying in my last post about going to Massachusetts for Johanna's brother's wedding in Lenox, MA. I really went and I brought my bike. I did everything that I set out to do in that post. Since Johanna is family and I'm just a glorified +1, she was busy and I had some free time. On Friday, I rode down the street and ended up on this cute little ribbon of singletrack about a mile from downtown named after some guy named Dan. I returned from my little sojourn and learned that I still had like two and half more hours until the rehearsal dinner. This would allow me to fulfill my dream of riding at October Mountain State Forest.

Well, October Mountain sucked, or at least I only found the shitty trails. I was also besieged by heavy gunfire. Maybe it's because I live in a city with gun violence, but even when I'm wearing orange, gunfire kind worries me when I'm in a forest. I guess in Lee, unlike in Hartford, "shots fired" means recreation instead of a reason to call the police. The trails were also totally eroded to the point of being marginally to totally unridable by ATVs and dirtbikes. And, I kept bottoming out my car. As much as I pretend, my Passat is not yet ready for the WRC.

At least my car isn't painted as garishly. (photo credit to rallybuzz.com for Loeb's car)

So anyway, not being able to do awesome mountain biking while attending a wedding is ok. I'm not that selfish and/or self-centered. Johanna and I went for a walk around Lenox & I bought some really good cheese and Miller Lite. I still had some more time, so I decided to explore Kennedy Park, which is like 500 yards up the hill from the center of Lenox, by bike.

And the day was saved! Kennedy Park has several miles of awesome singletrack and the bad memory of October Mountain was erased. Kennedy Park is like a hillier Keney Park with more letters in its name, however, someone took some time to put in some sweet and swoopy singletrack. I even rode down this steep thing and off of a wall, which I didn't see, and didn't kill myself. The wall a big surprise.

the picture makes me look like a liar (or a wimp), but I swear that it's really steep and that's a death wall!

Then, due to the improvement in the mountain biking, the wedding was a great success for all to remember for years to come! Seriously, it was a really awesome wedding.

ornamental cannon

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Riding Massachusettsly

People who live in central and western Mass seem to be good at riding bikes. To figure out why I'm going up there this weekend. Well, no, that's not really true. I'm actually going up there, because Johanna's brother is having a wedding in Lenox. Maybe I'll have interesting stories upon my return, maybe I won't.

But, you can take some time from the edge your seat to stop by Catalogue over at 56 Arbor Street. This month it's Dawn Holder, she's awesome (and rides a bike to boot (maybe even rides a bike in boots)). It'll be at 8pm and here's a descriptive email about it:

Greetings and happy spring. May is the greatest.

This is an email announcement & invitation to our May CATALOGUE, featuring Dawn Holder:

Nocturne

Saturday, May 22

8 o'clock

56 Arbor Street

Suite # forthcoming

Hartford, CT 06106

Dawn is curious. She is an explorer, however an introverted one, navigating psychology rather than terrain. Her work is scary, and also fluffy. Porcelain explains it all. So does sugar. These are common tools.

Dawn is an adjunct faculty member and ceramics technician at the Hartford Art School. For CATALOGUE, she will venture into an odd, natural world, using oddly natural materials, creating environments with phosphorescence. We will walk in and look.

CATALOGUE is a monthly event that showcases artists, musicians and other creative endeavors, and is hosted by Joe Saphire, Nick Rice, and Joel VanderKamp. The event is a collaboration between artist, curator, community and space. CATALOGUEs for March, Brendan Mahoney, as well as other previous shows, will be available on Saturday the 22nd.

Contact us for directions or questions: CATA.info.LOGUE@gmail.com, and please pass this invitation along to those we might have missed.

Joe Saphire

Nick Rice

Joel VanderKamp

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Threadless

I got my Stumpjumper back with its new headset and was excited to take it for a ride. I went up to Granville State Forest. I think the Hartland/Barkhamsted Dam/Mid-western Mass area is pretty and hilly. Trails aren't too trodden, but I was having a good time. They ran along side pretty, rocky streams. I like riding trails in remote and unpopular places, because it feels a lot more like hiking and nature-y. They may not have the most mountain bikesque lines, but that's ok.

So, I was about two miles in and having a good time, when all of the sudden my right foot feels weird. It was like I wasn't pedaling on something flat. In fact, it wasn't like I wasn't pedaling on something flat, I was not pedaling on something flat, because the pedal had eaten up the threading on the cranks. I don't know how I did it, but I did. Nothing felt cross threaded when I put the pedals on. My nice old Sugino cranks are ruined and it abruptly ended the ride.

And, shortly thereafter, a stick stabbed me in the face.

Note the odd angle of my foot.

What is this?

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2 cats

So, that race in Massachusetts happened yesterday. As promised, Brendan raced Cat 2. Brendan's bike, however, had no desire to do that.


I pre-rode the course, well some of it, and thought it was going to be a fun race. It felt fast and manageable. I stopped pre-riding when I came upon this crazy floating bridge.

Crazy floating bridge.

Crazy floating bridge with Brendan and some other guy.

I figured that the Cat 2 start would be faster than the Cat 3. It was, but not that much faster. I was in fourth going into the singletrack in the woods. Positions changed a bit until the crazy floating bridge, but I was in fourth getting to the bridge. My rear derailleur had started shifting funny, but I didn't really think anything of it until the other side of the floating bridge. It promptly shifted the chain into the spokes on the other side of bridge. I fixed it and on the next shift, it did it again. Things were not looking good. I lost a whole slew of positions and realized that I had bent the derailleur, though the hanger looked ok. Needless to say, this made riding with speed up any hill very difficult because I couldn't shift into any of the lower gears. I took it easy for a while, trying to figure out which gears worked and which gears didn't. I finally settled into a groove and could ride at maybe 75%. I caught back up to two 19-29 people and was started to feel a little more confident. It being my first Cat 2 race my expectations weren't very high, so I was just riding for the sake of riding and having a pretty good time.

Then my chain broke and I stopped having a good time. I ended up jogging the second half of the third lap and finishing with a depressing +2 hours time on an 18 mile course. Although, my wonderful girlfriend, Johanna, was waiting for me a little ways before the finish for some cheering up.

Brendan on foot.

She took the picture, so you can't see her.

Also, Cat 2 seems to be a good fit, though it'll be awhile until I win some socks again.

2nd also, one of the reasons that the crazy floating bridge was so crazy was that the water on either side was like four feet deep. I was told that in the Cat 1 race, someone tried to do a slick pass by running around the bridge and he sank. Also in the Cat 1 race, someone tried to jump on to the bridge, busted his ass and crashed into a tree.

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